THEYFRIEND Nonbinary Performance Festival
Opening Showcase & Dialogue
(Tuesday) November 14, 2023
5:30pm Pre-Panel, 6pm Start
Koret Auditorium, SF Public Library
100 Larkin St, San Francisco, CA 94102
Free! Donations encouraged
Moderator: SNJV
Pre-Panel Conversation with Sam Favela, Transgender District
Live Performances by Mojo Carter, Joce Ryder, & Zara Jamshed
Video from Riy Mutakabbir
In partnership with the Hormel LGBTQIA Center at San Francisco Public Library and the Transgender District
About the Event
Join us for the kickoff event of the 2023 THEYFRIEND Nonbinary Performance Festival with a facilitated discussion and performances featuring local nonbinary artists and leaders.
Prior to the performances, host and multidisciplinary artist SNJV will be joined by Sam Favela from the Transgender District for a foundational conversation centering the question “What is Nonbinary?” Then SNJV will be joined by drag artist Mojo Carter, musician Joce Ryder, poet Zara Jamshed, and dancer Riy Mutakabbir for performances and a discussion exploring the relationship between creative practice and nonbinary identity. Following the panel there will be time for a brief Q & A with the artists.
ACCESSIBILITY: The Main Branch of the San Francisco Public Library and the Koret Auditorium are fully ADA accessible. ASL interpretation, captioning and assisted listening devices are also available. To request accommodations, call (415) 557-4557 or contact accessibility@sfpl.org at least 72 hours in advance to help ensure availability.
COVID: Masking STRONGLY encouraged, participating artists and staff are COVID tested before the event.
This event is made possible with support from the California Arts Council, the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation and the Hormel LGBTQIA Center at San Francisco Public Library, and is presented in partnership with the Transgender District. Diamond Wave is a fiscally sponsored project of Intersection for the Arts that is supported by Grants for the Arts, the Horizons Foundation, the Walter & Elise Haas Fund and the San Francisco Arts Commission.
About the Artists
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SNJV is an artist using dance, drag, and drama to showcase humanity. Infusing culture into dance and fashion, SNJV creates performances for stage and film. With over 30 years of performance, SNJV has presented work globally, holds the title of Mr. GAPA 2019-2022 and is the first South-Asian title holder in GAPA’s history. (GLBTQ+ Asian Pacific Alliance). In addition, he is the co-founder of Parivar-a social collective to support and celebrate Queer and Trans communities of the South Asian diaspora. He is also an educator who lectures about his research on drag, dance and identity.
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(they/them)
Joce Ryder was born into a creative family. By 17, they had already studied dance professionally, been a radio dj, and fronted their first band. After joining New York’s Anti-Folk scene, Ryder led a band playing all original music. They were the lead singer of San Francisco pop-punk band Neon Anyway, performing all over the Bay Area, including Folsom Street Fair. In 2021, Ryder made and posted to YouTube 365 music videos. They studied acting and improv, and made multiple appearances at various improv festivals. A commercial and television actor, Ryder has been developing “Gentlethem” since 2021.
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(they/she)
Mojo Carter is a Trans Femme Black Drag Performer born and raised in New York, but now resides in the Bay Area. She in a traveling performer notable for performing in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois, Connecticut, California, and Seattle. She is known for her fashion sense and being an outstanding plus size model and performer. A few of her accolades is being a model for a Levis pride Campaign, winning the Castro Drag Entertainer of the Year Pageant, and being an up and coming rising performer in the Bay Area performing in shows with Queens from Rupauls Drag Race like Princess and Reparations. Her Performance Style and Look is a combination of New York and California drag bringing all types of culture into her drag to make a unique experience for audiences.
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(they/them)
Riyadah “Riy” Mutakabbir started their dance career at Stockton School of the Performing Arts and eventually transferred to Unique Visions Dance Company under the direction of Chelsea Hill. At 17 years old, they were admitted into UCLA’s Dance major where they were exposed to many different world dances and cultures. During their undergraduate career, they were a member of the hip hop group, NSU Modern, and co-founded a dance collective, Taste The Rainbow, that celebrated queer people’s existence. It is Riy’s mission to provide dance spaces to people of all genders and races to create a more inclusive dance community.
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(they/them)
Zara Jamshed (they/them) is a queer, non-binary, disabled Pakistani-American poet from NYC living in the East Bay. Their debut full-length poetry collection Neither Created Nor Destroyed explores the joy of “contradiction” in queer/trans Muslim identity, lessons from the laws of thermodynamics, and diasporic longing, and is available now with Game Over Books. The collection is a semifinalist for the Pamet River Prize and a finalist for the Stories Award for Poetry. Putting their engineering degree to use, they currently work to bring the economic and environmental benefits of solar energy to California's low-income renters.
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To Attend
This event is free to attend, but donations are encouraged!
About the Festival
Now in its third year, THEYFRIEND is the world’s first performance festival uplifting, centering, and celebrating nonbinary identity! This year we are hosting five events November 14–18 in partnership with San Francisco presenters, nightlife venues, and community organizations.
Curated by festival advisors Rawiyah Tariq, transcriptions01, the Living Altar, and Diamond Wave Director Vin Seaman, the 2023 THEYFRIEND festival features the work of 40 local, national, and international nonbinary performers!
With THEYFRIEND, we’re creating a space of trust and growth for nonbinary artists to connect and present their work.
